Lots of presenters when asked what’s the one thing they’d like to do differently, would probably respond with “present with more confidence”. OK so why is this so lacking in many business preseters today?
If this is like you at all, how do you feel when you’re in front of an audience and getting ready to present? Very nervous? Palms sweating? Shallow breathing? Heart pounding? If we took everybody’s symptoms and put them all in a list you’d probably be surprised at just how many there are. And you might be surprised that many now confident presenters also suffered at one time from these same problems.
So what do we need to do to become more confident? How can we improve our presentation skills? What effective confidence building techniques can you use to help you move into a more confident state when you are about to present.
Lets be clear, there are many different strategies that people use to become more confident. You need to try them out and then choose which work best for you. Below are 3 key tips that probably everybody can use.
Prepare. Prepare. Prepare! This includes knowing your audience and what matters to them. Make sure that your slides are likely to make an impact with them.
Ensure you have a succinct outline to your presentation. Keep it simple with a definite beginning, middle and end. And restrict your key ideas to 3 in total. It will help you to stay on track and make it easier for your audience to understand what you’ve got to say.
Try and speak more slowly. Lots of people speed up when they present ? when the nerves kick in. Take more time with your delivery. The tendency is often there to rush through things. But if you think ’slow is best’ when you begin you will then be more in control of things and this will give you a more confident manner.
Try out these 3 simple ideas the next time you are asked to present. And as a result you should be more confident and successful.
Get more help on how to overcome presentation nerves.